'Rinse and repeat' storm to bring 3 days of snow and rain

Prince Edward Islanders are going to have to put up with a few days of messy weather, but may be rewarded with some clear skies for the eclipse on Monday.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement in connection with a system expected to dump precipitation over the Island starting on Thursday and continuing through to Sunday morning.

CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said the storm will start as rain mixed with snow Thursday afternoon, then shift to snow as temperatures drop overnight. In all for the day there will be two to five centimetres of snow and two to five millimetres of rain.

"Friday is kind of a rinse and repeat kind of day of Thursday, and Saturday likewise," said Simpkin.

"It's going to be that rain/snow mixture during the day while the temperatures come up above freezing, but in the morning and through the overnight hours it's going to be mostly snow."

Inland areas could see more snow than places closer to the shore, she said. Winds will be gusty while the system hangs overhead, up to 70 km/h out of the east.

Over the course of the storm, weather stations are likely to record a lot of snowfall, said Simpkin.

"If you were to take it from tomorrow afternoon to Sunday morning we do have the potential to see 20 centimeters of snow," she said.

"But I don't think we're going to see that on the ground on Sunday morning just because it's going to be mixing with rain during the day, and at times the rain is going to be washing away the snow that fell the night before."

Clouds will linger on Sunday, but the forecast for Monday is promising for a total eclipse of the sun coming late in the afternoon, with a mix of sun and cloud.